


We Remain

by Little_Red92



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Late Night Conversations, Post Jak 2, Romance, Sleepless nights, Whimsical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23357503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Red92/pseuds/Little_Red92
Summary: Keira can't sleep one night, so she crawls through Jak's window to ask him out for ice cream.**Jak inches closer, tentatively brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She melts into the touch, eyes fluttering closed. The butterflies in her stomach flutter and sing, spreading dizzying sparks of electric warmth. The world stays perfectly still, just for them, just for a moment, it washes away and sets them down in a place made of stars. Then there is rustling, chatter, noise and life and Keira is back under florescent lights, inches from Jak's face.
Relationships: Keira Hagai/Jak
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	We Remain

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a friend as a little bit of comfort during this difficult time

It’s late, or early, depending on how you look at it. To those stumbling home, winding down from the high of celebration, it’s late. To those rising for work, chasing sleep away with a strong coffee and a brisk shower, it’s early. To Keira, the lightening sky should be a sign to go bed, put the tools aside, wash away the grease and crawl up under the covers to sleep for hours. The restless energy pulsating under her skin won’t allow this though. It begs for a distraction, for movement.

Once she would have spent the remaining hours tossing and turning in bed or pacing the floors of her apartment, now the night calls to her, luring outside into the warm air. She stands on the front porch, surveying the quiet street. Main Town is a relatively safe part of Haven City, if she ventured out for a morning walk, there would be a few early birds emerging from their homes, heading to work or going for a jog. There would be a few people staggering home, hair tousled, and skin shimmering from sweat. Haven City has been liberated for eight weeks now and yet the night is still full of celebrations.

Keira closes the door behind her, taking a few moments to secure all the locks, then she begins her walk.

It’s an uneventful fifteen-minute walk to her destination, the morning air is warm and humid, the sky shifting from indigo blue to violet above her head. Her father would disapprove of her walking Haven streets alone, he’s been suffocating her lately, trying to make up for lost time but it’s too late. She’s not the little mechanic girl who dutifully followed her father’s every word. She’s lived surrounded by strong woman for almost two years, has been moulded and carved into someone strong and abled.

She’s not invincible, and underneath the harden exterior the curious, bright-eyed girl still lives. She’s just capable of making it alone without a worrying father or a hero to save her. Of course, had the city still been under Baron Praxis’s rule she wouldn’t have dared venture out alone. But under Ashelin’s reign, the city has settled into a sense of calm, the mob bosses and thugs running scared or snapped up, locked up for crimes they’d gotten away with for far too long.

The streets aren’t entirely free or terror, but Keira feels safe enough to make the journey to the Naughty Ottsel. Usually, she’d take her zoomer, it would be much faster, but her body craves the movement. She’d spent the better half of the day in a stuffy meeting room, fighting off sleep as Ashelin revealed the plans for New Haven. When the meeting let out, Ashelin pulled her aside to go over a few more things and by the time Keira arrived at work, she was fighting to stay awake.

She should have worked through the fatigued, but the second she sat on the old beat-up sofa, just for a moments rest, she was out like a light. It’s why she’s wide awake now, walking the streets, stretching out the ache from her legs. If her father woke and found her gone, he’d be worried, but this isn’t the first night she’s snuck out, seeking the freedom of the night, and the company of a certain blue-eyed boy. She’d be back before her father woke, and if he noticed that she’d left during the night, he wouldn’t mention it.

The industrial sector thins out, the secret pathway to the Ottsel in sight. Cutting behind the stretch of buildings that run along the waterfront, Keira moves briskly through the darkened alley. The feeling of safety isn’t as firm here, the air settles on her skin, damp and cold, reeking of unpleasant things. The back of the newly christened Naughty Ottsel is in sight, the red fire escape rising up to the shabby apartment that has become Jak and Daxter’s home.

As she draws closer the cold sense of unease fades, chased away by butterflies that flutter in time with her heart. Just out of sight, most likely awake, sitting on the sofa with a mug of coffee or hunched at the table cleaning the morph gun, is Jak. Keira climbs the fire escape with practised ease, coming to a stop by the partly opened window. Peering into the dimly lit room, she finds the outline of Jak’s shoulders.

He’s at the table cleaning the morph gun, back to the window, like he’s oblivious to her presence. Keira knows that is not the case, Jak is highly attuned, can sense the slightest shift, hear the quietest ruffle. He turns towards Keira just as she shimmies through the window, feet landing with a gentle thud on the floor. A smile lights up Jak’s tired face, he sets the barrel aside and walks over to greet Keira, wiping his hands on a stained rag as he does.

“Can’t sleep again?”

“I dozed off for a bit,” she replied, taking a sit on the window ledge. Keira hasn’t been sleeping well recently, hell she hasn’t had a good night’s rest in over two years, but for some reason, it’s gotten worse since the war ended. Her father is at home, snoring loudly on the couch, safe and alive after two years of imprisonment. Jak and Daxter have freed the city from the Baron’s tyranny and slayed the metal-head leader. The danger has passed, loved ones reunited and yet the nights remain hollow.

Keira can’t sleep, and she doesn’t know why.

But neither can Jak, though his reasons are different. The nights and early mornings are for whispered conversations about trivial things, punctured by the occasional wistful moments of reminiscing. They don’t talk about Jak’s imprisonment or his bursts of reckless behaviour. Keira knows they should, that Jak has terrible tales to tell and scars to bear and she has her own horrors to reveal, but the nights are peaceful and feel far removed from the chaos of the day.

The past is not ready to be spilled out into the night, wounds not ready to be reopened and that’s okay, there is plenty of time to heal, to grow. Right now, with batted souls and tired hearts, the world needs to be still. At this moment, Jak and Keira need a reprieve, a chance to reconnect before they can rebuild. That is why no loaded questions are asked after dark, no arguments or turmoil from the day taken into the night.

It's a blank slate of glittery stars.

“Have you been up all night?” the dim light casts a shadow over Jak’s face, concealing the dark circles Keira knows are deepening under his eyes.

“Yeah, kinda,” Jak said, shrugging.

There is a beat, a moment where Keira feels a dangerous question teetering on the edge of her tongue, but she quickly swallows and says, “Do you want to go for ice cream?” This is what she asked, all those weeks ago, when she first crawled through Jak’s window at an ungodly hour. His response is still etched in her mind, brows raised comically high, voice full of confusion. ‘You crawled through my window at 4am, to ask me if I want to go for ice cream?’

Jak’s lips twitch, tired smile brightening. “Yeah, let me just grab my stuff.”

Keira watches Jak disappear into the dark hallway, moving silently through the apartment, careful not to wake Daxter. He emerges moments later, pouch strapped to his hip, faithful goggles on his head and jet-board strapped to his back. They slip out the window onto the fire escape then descend to the alleyway below. Jak takes the jet-board from its holster and sets it on the ground, offering Keira a hand to step onto it, chivalrous as always.

At night, Jak is almost like the sweet village boy from Sandover, the hard edges smoothed out, the walls pulled down. After dark the stress and demands of the daily grind fall away, granting them a chance to be young, to be wild. Keira likes who they become after dark, a little reckless and daring, a little more sugar and spice. Most nights end up with them setting out to explore the dilapidated streets of Haven City.

It's almost like old times, though instead of sneaking off to the Forbidden Jungle to gaze at the stars or to Sentinel Beach to watch the sunrise, they explore abandoned houses and sneak outside the city walls. They go rollerblading and bowling at the arcade, they compete in games and win silly prizes for each other. Keira has an ever-growing collection of treasures forming in her room, gifted to her by Jak or won for herself.

When they are home-sick, the go-to Haven Forest and frolic about in the trees or find a clearing where they can lay their weary bodies and watch the stars. Sometimes they fall asleep under the stars, curled up in each other’s arms, other times, as the nights wind down, they find themselves at diners, sitting under neon lights, drinking delicious milkshakes and devouring burgers and fries. At night they are free to be young, to fall in love over and over.

Keira’s arms tighten around Jak’s waist, head resting against his shoulder, inhaling the scent of home. Jak still smells like the ocean, like fresh-cut grass. His back is warm against her chest, muscles relaxed, and she can sense the smile on his face, subtle and soft. His hand briefly touches hers, skin warm and calloused, sending a jolt to her heart. She’s missed his touch, _missed him_.

Up ahead, the bright lights of the convenient store come into focus. This is their go-to place for ice cream, as it has a large assortment of flavours. The jet-board comes to a stop, Keira dismounts first, waiting a moment for Jak to place it in the holster before taking her hand. There is another spark, electric and marvellous, shooting through from her fingertips to her heart. She wonders if Jak feels it too. He must because his grip on her hand tightens and a rosy shade of pink flushes across his face.

Only Keira and the night are privy to this sight, come morning light the bashful boy will be carefully concealed once more. It’s a privilege to see Jak like this, to see past the hardened exterior and sharp grin, to glimpse the hero who still lives within. Praxis, Erol, the dark eco experiments didn’t burn out Jak’s spark, it’s still there, just dulled, but these nights of adventure and ice cream, of gentle touches and whispered conversations are helping to stoke it.

The automatic doors slid open, a rush of artificial cold air greeting Keira as she steps in, the air conditioning pleasantly cool compared to the humid morning air outside. Keira misses a lot about Sandover, but air conditioning is one invention she wouldn’t like to live without. The days are stifling hot in the city, the towering walls keeping out the ocean breeze. The ancient A/C in her shoebox apartment chugs away nosily every night, rattling the paper-thin walls with each new cycle.

Keira should replace it before it sputters its last breath, but she still has to replace the kitchen light switch and fix the bathroom sink. From the moment Keira moved into the cramped apartment it’s been trouble, but it’s been a place of safety and comfort. A home. She couldn’t imagine leaving the place she’d found solace, laughter and warmth and yet part of her wanted to say goodbye to the patchy beige walls and creaky floors, to the rooms that held memories of long nights of loneliness and tears.

“Keira?” Jak’s voice pulls her back to the present. They are standing by the freezers, air sharp and chilling. “Are you okay?”

These words are spoken so softly, with such concern that it tugs at Keira’s heart, flooding her with warmth. “Yeah, sorry, I’m fine,” she assured, “my overtired brain just shorted out.”

Jak inches closer, tentatively brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She melts into the touch, eyes fluttering closed. The butterflies in her stomach flutter and sing, spreading dizzying sparks of electric warmth. The world stays perfectly still, just for them, just for a moment, it washes away and sets them down in a place made of stars. Then there is rustling, chatter, noise and life and Keira is back under florescent lights, inches from Jak’s face.

Heart hammering, she pulls away, covering the awkward silence with the first thing that comes to mind. “Ashelin offered me a new apartment today-” she said, stepping away from Jak, away from his radiating warmth- “in New Haven, once it’s built.” This is why the apartment was on her mind, why she was thinking about leaving it because for the first time in two years there was an offer to live somewhere better.

“Are you gonna take her up on that offer?” Jak asked, leaning casually against the freezer door, not missing a beat despite the awkward moment just past.

“It would be nice.” She admitted, gaze shifting between chocolate madness and strawberry swirl. “But the apartment has become my home, and I don’t mind how small it is.”

“It does have a homely feel,” Jak agreed, reaching past her to open the door and pull out a punnet of passion mango. Grinning he places it in her hand, he knows her too well. “Was this after the council meeting today?” he asked, circling right back to their conversation.

“Yeah, Ashelin took me aside after to speak about it,” Keira replied, reaching into the freezer to grab a punnet of cookies and cream for Jak. “She’s sweet.”

Jak’s brows arch high, expression caught between alarmed and amused. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”

Keira laughed, shaking her head as she walked past Jak, saying as she went. “She reminds me of someone else I know.” Tough exterior, aloof façade, it’s the trademark nature of most Underground members. Spend a little time with them and underneath is kindness and big hearts. Ashelin isn’t cold or indifferent, she’s compassionate and caring. Like a certain blonde renegade.

“Well, what I can say,” Jak appears at her side, lips curling into a coquettish grin, “I guess you just bring out that side of me.”

“Aw, so you’re not like this with all the other girls?” Keira teased.

“Only you.” He replied, voice taking on a gentleness Keira hadn’t heard before.

The words were spoken with sincerity, said as a declaration. It made Keira’s heart skip a beat, legs grow weak. She had the urge to kiss him again. She wanted to kiss the boy she loved right here, under the florescent lights, between the freezers and a shelf of soda. Instead, she took his hand, sending the desire through her fingertips to his, hoping the way she flutters her lashes and curls her lips conveys the message. She’d very much like to kiss him, once they are outside again, away from prying eyes and security cameras.

Keira pays for their ice cream, even though Jak insists, but he paid last time, and it’s Keira’s turn to fund their nightly adventure. Keira rushes ahead of Jak, making him give chase, knowing he’ll catch up with ease. She’s halfway down the block when she feels hands on her waist, lifting her into the air. She laughs freely, head falling back to momentarily rest on Jak’s shoulder before he puts her back down, arms wrapping around her waist, chin nuzzled into the crock of her neck, warm cheek pressed against hers.

“You should take Ashelin’s offer,” Jak says against her ear, warm breath tickling her skin.

“Why?” she asked, not really caring about his answer, she just wanted this moment to stretch on forever. To spend eternity in this very spot, in the arms of the boy she loved.

“Because you deserve it.”

The warmth vanishes from her back, the air suddenly cold against her skin. Opening her eyes, she finds Jak standing in front of her, ocean blue eyes glistening in the pale morning light. The urge to kiss him returns, making her lean forward, cresting on the wave of courage. Jak’s lips are warm and dry against hers, there is a moment where he is still, the air charged with an uncertainty that is swept away by a burst of boldness.

Jak kisses back, arms drawing her close, hands roaming over her back and up to her neck, tangling in the stray strands of hair there. Keira’s hands roam on their own accord, one cupping Jak’s soft cheek while the other moves to his chest, resting over his pounding heart. They kiss for seconds, minutes and aeons and when they come up for air, the sky is pastel pink. Lingering in the heat of the moment, Keira steals one last kiss, short and sweet, before taking Jak’s hand and leading him onward.

They arrive at a small park a few moments later, cheeks flushed and lips tingling. Keira takes a seat on the swing and starts eating her ice cream, it’s a little melted, but she doesn’t mind. Jak sits opposite her, gaze shyly flickering between them. A comfortable silence settles between them as morning light falls over them, in the tree’s birds wake, morning songs filling the air. This small little park is a rare gem within the concert walls of Haven City, though in the coming years more places like this are to be built. Ashelin has every intention of returning Haven to its namesake.

The dilapidated homes in the slums will be torn down, shiny new townhouses built in their place. The holes in the streets will be filled, the dirt paved over. The abandoned buildings will be swept clean of cobwebs and dust, shattered glass and ripped up boards replaced. Businesses will open in the empty places Keira and Jak have explored at night. The dark spaces where they’ve sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company as the night passes by, will be filled with families and light.

Keira lifts her gaze to the sky, a few stars remain, glittering down on her. This is the same sky that once stretched over Sandover, the same sun and moon that hung in the sky and the stars still form the same constellations. Somethings remain unchangeable, even by time itself, while other things come apart. Keira worries that she’ll be one of those things, that she’ll never be the curious, sweet and sassy girl again, but then she looks over at Jak, who is nothing like the boy she remembers, and sees him smiling.

Soft and boyish, golden like the rising sun.

 _Somethings remain_.

“What?” Jak asked, trademark smile faltering at the edges as insecurity flickers across his face.

Keira holds his gaze, offering him a reassuring smile before asking. “Are you going to continue living at the Ottsel?”

A crease forms between Jak’s brows, faintly lit by the morning light. Keira can sense that Jak knows her words don’t align with the thoughts in her head, but he doesn’t press the matter. The early morning isn’t for in-depth conversations or whispered confessions of feelings, that belongs to the midnight hour when the world feels still and surreal. “Like you said, it’s home.” His brows smooth out, face softening as the storm cloud lifts. “Though a very nosy one.” He adds, taking another mouthful of ice cream, somehow getting some on the tip of his nose.

Keira giggles, shaking her head as she gets to her feet, moving towards Jak. “Here,” she leans in, wiping ice cream from his nose, “you’re adorable.”

Jak catches her wrist, holding it carefully between his fingers. “Don’t tell anyone-” he sets the empty punnet of ice cream aside and pulls Keira onto his lap, “-Or you’ll ruin my bad boy reputation.”

“Oh, we wouldn’t want that.” Keira quips, rolling her eyes playfully. 

Jak buries his head in her hair, nuzzling cold lips against her neck, stirring shivers up Keira’s spine. The conversation about moving comes to an end, the thread will be picked up another night, and on that night, Keira might decide to take Ashelin up on her offer, and Jak might be sick of living above a nosy bar. Everything will continue changing. The city will shake off the rust and dust, will begin again, as a true place of Haven. For now, as the first strands of light stretch out across the sky, Keira leans into Jak’s warmth, inhaling the scent of home, old and new.

The world has changed, and so have they, but this love, born in the innocence of youth, will always remain.


End file.
